Long ago before the advent of modern medicine, people found their own cures and remedies for ailments.
For warts they used a black snail, rubbed on the wart for nine mornings.
For burns a person had to first lick a mankeeper's tummy and then lick the burn to cure it.
To cure a bee sting they used blue, a powder for whitening clothes.
The cure a nettle sting it was rubbed with a dock leaf.
To cure the whooping cough they gave the patients ferret's leavings to eat.
To cure mumps they put a donkey's winkers on the person's head.
To cure a boil a poultice of white bread, scalded with boiling water, was put on it.
A sty on the eye was bathed in cold black tea.
In olden days a pig was killed in most farmhouses. In our parish a man by the name of Peter McNamara was sent for some days in advance to butcher the pig. This was to give the farmer some time to have the slaughter shed prepared with plenty of pots of boiling water, a pole for hanging up the pig, plenty of salt and a few men to help out. The pig was caught by his ears and a touch put in his mouth. Three of his legs were tied together and one was left free to kick and help him bleed. He was then stabbed in the throat with a sharp knife. A basin was placed under him to catch the blood. This was later used to make black pudding. Then he was taken down and flat on a door. The boiling water was used to wash the pig and he was shaved with a sharp knife. He was hung back up again and his stomach opened to take out his intestines, his head was removed and he was prepared for boning. His vital organs were then placed in an earthenware crock and covered in salt. The rest of the pig was then quartered and salted and laid on a bed of straw. Usually an upturned table was used as a weight to keep the air from getting in at the carcass. [In those days salt was used as a preservative before the E.S.B. supplied fridge's and freezers.] The pig was turned and salted every second day for nine days. It was now cured and ready to store until needed.
In ancient Ireland a single plough was supposed to turn up 120 Irish acres in the year and this was called a ploughland. There were twelve ploughlands in a bally or townland, and thirty ballys were equal to a tuatha, There were 184 tuatha in Ireland. The old Irish acre was almost three times larger than an English one.
Aughafin: Achadh Fionn=fine field. Fionn means fair as opposed to rua(red)
Ballindgny: Baile na Daigne=town of the stronghold
Ballynagoshen: Town of the footmen
Barne: Bearna=a gap
Bracklin: Breac Chluanach=the speckled town
Ballyhoolivan: Baile Ui Shuileabhain=O'Sullivan's town
Cam: A winding From cam is derived comma( because it is á). Caman a hurley stick
Camlisk: cam leisce=winding of the lazy man.
Clonca: Cluain catha=meadow of battle
Clonwhelan: Cluain Faoilean=meadow of the seagulls
Corboy: Cor bui=yellow hill
Corclaragh: Cor Clarach=a dike with planks across it
Cranley: Cranlaigh=arbourous place or a place of trees
Culloge: Culog=little( one who rides behind another on horseback)
Curry: Curraidh=lowland
Garryandrew: Garrai Aindriu=Andrew's garden
Keelognasause: Caolog na Sas=narrow ridge of the nets or engines
Kilsallagh: Coill Salach or Coill Soileach=the dirty wood, or the wood of the willows or church of the sallys
Lacken: Leacain=shelving side of hill or stepped hill
Liscahill: Lios Cathail=Cahill's Fort
Lisnagrish: Lios na Gris=fort of the embers
Lisanure: Lios an Inbhair=fort of the yew tree. The yew tree was ranked among the chief trees. The Druids regarded them as sacred.
Lisanore: Lios an Óir=fort of the gold. Ireland was formerly rich in gold
Lisnanagh: Lios na Neach=fort of the troops, it could also mean fort of the aspiration
Longfield: Gort fada=long field
Monadarragh: Moin na Darrach=bog of the oaks
Rinneny: Roinn Eithne=Enna's division
Ringowney: Roinn Gamhnaigh=calf's division. Rinn means a neck of land or a headland There are three words for fort in Irish. - lios, rath and dun. The fort is circular in sahpe and built of large blocks of stone
Cullyvore: Coill Ui Mhordha=O'Moore's wood
Greeve: Gríomh=land measure(one twelfth of a townland)
Kilcourcey: Coill cúrsaí=the wood of/at the racecourse
Lisnageeragh: Lios na gCaorach=the fort of the sheep(plural)
Shantum: Sean Tom=an old thicket
Tinnenaire: tigh na n-ár=house of the slaughters.
Clover Well.
The Clover Well has been a feature of Edgeworthstown for many years, as long as most people can recall. Though the world had changed around it the well remains the same. Tthe well was used by the people of the town in the days before water was piped to houses. There is a story told that the Irish hero Kevin Barry stopped at the well to wash and take a drink, the week before he died. These are the facts about the Clover Well.
Other items and stories:
In St. John's Churchyard there are Famine stones and an unusual headstone. This stone, which looks as if it were cut off in the middle is over the grave of a young man, from a circus who was killed. The idea for the unusual look was to represent a life cut off in it's prime. In Aughafin Cemetery there is a miniature headstone, an exact replica of a larger headstone. The miniature was done by a boy of twelve, a member of the Coffey family. This family were stonemasons.
Carlton's Folly:
Outside Edgeworthstown is an interesting ruin. The story of this ruin is that once upon a time a landlord called Carlton was building a new home for his prospective bride. However his family objected to the bride, considering unsuitable and from a lower class. Carlton was heartbroken and annoyed with his family. The building was never completed and he decided to put his wealth out of reach of his family by creating a trust fund to help young newlyweds of the area. This trust is still in existence. One other interesting story in connection with this ruin. It is said bullocks' blood was mixed in with the cement when it was being built.